CST300 Module 7

Part 1

Our team has collaborated well so far regarding the Final Research Video. Last week in our team meeting, which was facilitated through Discord, we determined the timetable to have the various parts of the project done. First on the agenda was a Google Doc where we compiled research, second was a Google Slide where we made the presentation, and third was a deadline where all team members needed to have their sections recorded. We are currently working on recording the video. The process has been smooth so far, I see no need to change future groupwork based on this project.

Part 2

Ted.com video reflections:

Source: https://www.ted.com/talks/aicha_evans_your_self_driving_robotaxi_is_almost_here

• An alternative view of the self-driving car revolution is not one where everyone has an individual car, like we do today, but one where a shared pool of vehicles transport people on-demand.
• Computer vision allows self-driving cars to see and parse the world around it, allowing them to drive and avoid obstacles. However, this computer vision is still far below a human’s capacity to absorb and understand the environment.
• Radar and Lidar are used to supplement traditional cameras to provide additional information to the computer.
• The presentation described a self-driving car that can continuously see 360 degrees around itself, and for over 150 meters.
• There will always be edge-case scenarios that cannot be handled by a self-driving system. Simulations can be used to help train self-driving systems to respond to these edge cases.

Source: https://www.ted.com/talks/john_c_mather_how_the_james_webb_space_telescope_will_unfold_the_universe

• The James Web Space Telescope is estimated to have a 20-year operational lifespan.
• To fit inside the rocket, James Web had to be intricately folded. The telescope then had to carefully unfold over two weeks when it reached its destination at L2, which is around two million miles from Earth.
• The telescope can only operate at cool temperatures. An “umbrella” is used to shield the telescope from the Sun.
• Theoretically, the telescope is so sensitive that it could detect a bumblebee on the Moon from the Earth’s surface.

Presentation resources notes:

• Do not overload your PowerPoint presentation slides with words.
• Fonts should have an average point size. Text should not move.
• Choose font type wisely. Do not pick something too outlandish.
• Use normal capitalization rules. Avoid unnecessary bullet points.
• Use moderate amounts of animation.
• Do not assume the viewer will understand the acronyms included in the presentation.
• Do not include meaningless graphs in the presentation.
• Maps should have the relevant locations marked.
• Lists should be, at maximum, five or six items long.
• Handouts should be distributed before the presentation starts.
• Physical props should be able to be seen by all audience members, and the presentation should not make use of too many physical props.